Vibration-operated pump



Nov. 12, 1929. .c. H. BRASELTON ET AL I L VIBRATION CPERATED PUMP Original Filed'Jan. 30. 1922 Elvwentozs 1 a p p Patented Nov. 12, 1929 If ;."un1Ti:o sTA,

res Parser enrich cnn'srnn H. nnnsnn'ron, or nnw YORK, Ann rnnn B. MAcLAREN,'OF MALBA, LONG" ISLAND, NEW YORK; SAID MAGLABEN Assrenon TO SAID nnesnu'rort VIBRATION-OPERATED ruivrr .Application filed January 30, 1922, Serial no. 532,719. Renewedlllugust 1e, 192s.

This. inventionrelates to improvements in the type of machine shown and described in our application for United States patent executed on the 21st day of January, 1922, and

5 filed in the United States Patent Ofiice on January 23, 1922, Serial #531,137, entitled Method and apparatus for pumpingfiuids, and our application entitled Vibration operating' pumping mechanism, Serial No. 1.0 533,493, filed February 1, 1922, and has to do with modifications in design of the mechanism shown in said applications.

Our emb diment shown in this application is designed and described for use in pumping as fiuidsand in the particular embodimentillustrated topump liquid fuel for use in self-propelled vehicles from a lower level tankto, a higher level auxiliary tank from which the f lfil may flow by gravity to a carburetor for so an internal combustion engine.

The embodiment shown utilizes the Vibration of the vehicle or parts thereof, either when running or subjected to vibration in any 7 such manner as by the operation of the 2 5 engine, for vibrating an auxiliary tank containing pump mechanism, the piston .of which operates as an inertia element so that when the tank containing the pump is vibrated the cylinder of the being fixed with respect to the tank will tend to' oscillate in the direction of the axis of the piston and relative thereto to thereby cause a decrease and increase in that part of the cylinder cooperating with the piston to cause a pumping eifect through suitable valve mechanism to pump liquid from a lower. level through thepump and into the auxiliary tank adj acent the latter.

The invention relates to various details of design, operation and construction, economies of manufacture, etc., all hereinafter described and more fully outlined in the appended claims.

In the drawings Figure Iillustrates in a conventional Way an automobile with our invention @Pplicdthereto.

"-E-igure' II illustrates a vertical sectional view of the pump tank shown in Figure I.

Re err ng to F gu I of the drawings, qther e is Shown an application-of our invenas needed.

tion applied to anau tomobile 1 shown'in a 1 conventional manner. Theengine 2 of the; automobile is supplied through manifold with liquid fuel from a carburetor 4. A large;

tank 5 islocatedat the rearof the automobile for containinga supply ofliquid-fuel. This tank is connected through pipe 6, with, our

pump tank 7 thepipe 6. openingintothe up? per end of the pump tank. The pump tank at its lower end is connected through pipe 8 with the carburetor so that liquid fuel in the tank 7 may flow by gravityto the carburetor Our device utilizes the vibration of the" tank 7 caused byeither the running of the automobile or the vibration of the engine to operate the pumpingfme'cha'nism. The constructionof the pumping mechanism is clear; ly shown in Figure II which is a vertical lon-l gitudinal section of the same. Trepresents a pressed metal tank or receptacle the bottom of which is shown integral with the side, Screwing into anopening 9 in the bottom 10 of thepump tank is a connection 11 adapted to be attached itoytheupper end of the feed pipe 8 tothe 'caiburetorso that liquid fuel may flow from the insi'deof the tank ,7 to p the carburetor by gravity. The upperlend ofthe joint 11 is adapted to projectslightly above the bottom of the inside. of. the tank to allow a space in the bottom of the tank in which sediment or water may collect without being drained off to the carburetor. A screw. plug 12 is removably attached in thebottorn of. the tank for draining off the sediment from the bottom of the tank or if desired obtaining liquid fuel for use other than through the carburetor. A guide13 is pressed in the inside of the tank and located slightly above the bottom of the same with such a tight fit as to remain perinanently in place. This is also preferably made of pressed metal and is of'spider forma-g tion inside the peripheral ring 13 so as to allow free access of liquid in the tank from above this guide to below it through the openings 14 in the spider. Thecentralpartofthev spider projects upwardly as at 15 and "has an axial hole16 in which fits the lower end 1701?, l a piston element 18, the part 15 for'ming a guide for the lower end of the piston element. The upper end of the piston element is enlarged at 19 with a boss 20 around which is adapted to fit the upper end of coil spring 21. Thisspring surrounds the piston element 18 .and has its lower end resting upon thetop of the spider 13 and being held in place by surrounding, the flange 15 of the central portion of ythe spider. This spring is thus compressed when in place due to the weight of the piston element 18 and enlarged portion 19 and holds the piston element normally ata point of balance from which it may'normally be moved relative to-the casing 7froin the vi- "bration of the latter.

The vibration for op,-

' erating the pump maybe either that caused by the movement of the car over the road, or that of the vibration of the .engme' nism bymechanical means operated from the engine or elsewhere.

Theenlarged part 1901? the piston element has a recess 22 annular in torin and opening into the upper surface ofthis enlarged poragainst the downwardly turned flange 31 on tion from the top; Inside this annular recess the operating part 23 of the piston is located and which has a bearing on the inside of cylinder '24 prqectmgdownfrom the ropes of the casing 7 and into the recess 22.

The fit between the piston head 23 and cylinder 24 is a loose fit and the space betweenthe upper end of the piston and the opposing part of the cylinder 24 constitutes the pump chamber. This chamber 26 cooperates with valves 27 in the piston-element and 28in the cylinder element to pump liquid into the tank 7 when relative movement takes place v between the piston element and'cylinder. 7

-The cylinder 24 has an abutment 29 on its exterior so that when the cylinder is inserted through from the bottom, the cap 25 having a central opening 30, the abutment 29' will rest the top 25 in which position" itmay be sole dered or otherwise securely fastened with the top in a liquid tight manner. The'upper end of the piston is provided with a nut 32 screwing in a chamber in the upper end of the same and this nut has an axial opening 33 against 7 the lower edges of which the ball valve 27 normally spring pressed upward by the spring 34 between it and the, bottom of the recess no sitioned. The recess 35 in whichthe ball valve 27 islocated isjconne ted by openings 36 with theexterior ofthe'pistonelement below the enlarged part-19 and by means of these openings the recess 35 is always in connection for liquid communication with the main chamber of. the tank around the bottom part of the piston;

The head 37 for the cylinder has a recess 38 connected with the space 26 and 1n a counterbored portion of this recessjis screwed a nut 39 having openings 40 for allowing liquid in the valve chamber38 to flow through to the pump; chamber 26. A spring 41' yi'eldingly' holds the ball '28 upwardly contact with I valve seat 42 sourrounding the opening 43 in thecylinder head and-leadingeto opening ti joining transversely with 1 the -,-same. This opening 44 through sultable oint connection isconnected with pipe 6 leading from the rear tank and provides an opening and coma munication from the'ball' valvefi 38 and its chamber through the rear tank, In order. to provideanadj ustable restriction torthe flow of liquid from the rear tank into thepum p chamber I provide an adjustable screw- 45 working in anopeningin the head of the" cylinder and havlng a conical lower end cooperating withtheva-lve seat 46 on theupper edge; of recess .42. By the use of alockjnut-d? the passage through tube/H to the ballvalve'may:

be held to whatever extent desired; A

An opening 48 ofvery smusize is provided in the cap 25so asto provide a'tmo's-f pheric pressure at all timesupon the liquid in the inside of the-tank. It'is desired thatj this opening'be sufficiently small thatany-- danger froinsplashing' of- -liquid out of the tank may be'eliminated lhe cap25has i turned down flanges 49 atits periphery-rot,

fitting snugly over the top o'f-tankcasing 7 In order that too tight a 'fit-is "not provided for ready removal I provide screws'50 screw-- ing through this flange vand into the wall ,7

of the tank so as to permanently but remov ably fasten the lid in place on thetank; gasket maybe provided between'the cap and top of the tank wall if desired to make the proper fit. r "-w g To facilitate operation'of the pum-p man ually if desired we may provide anoperat ing rod 51 the lower end of which is fastened to the upper surface offenlargineht 1910f the piston element and the rod projecting through opening 52 in the cap -25to the ex terior of the tank. If it"isdesired to ope'r ate the pump when the casing is not subject I 1 ed to vibration it thenfmaybe done by push .ing and pulling the rod 51 upwardly and downwardly to accordingly move the pistonl Then; too, as shown in'fFigurefL' a handle 53'is pivoted in the dash, itsend 54 being" adapted to lie over the top 55of the rod5l." By Operating sh d 53 On t Clash HP wardly its end 5% will be pushed'downward 1y pushing rod 5l thereunder and with' it the pistondown in the casing 7'. VVh'en the handle 53 is released the spring 2l-'will return the piston and the rod 51% upward -posi-' tion. By operating the 'p iston in this way manually a fewtimes'thetan k 7 will be v plied with liquid fuel from the reartan --The operation of this fdeviceis as follows:

Assumingthat asshown in the drawings the device is intended to be used and operated by thevibration of the car when moving over the road or when the engine is running, any movement upwardly of the tank 7 W111 cause relative movement between the cylinder 24 rigidly carried by the top of the tank? and i be added at any other place in the piston it being immaterial where the weight is so far as the inertia is concerned. This relative upwar'd. movement of thetank and downward v movement ofthe piston operates to draw liq-- uid fuel from rear tank 5 through pipe 6 through opening 44 around'conical screw 46' through opening 43 past valve 28 and through openings 40 into the pump chamber 26.. As

the tank 7 returns downwardly carrying with it cylinder 24 valve 28 closes and valve: 27

opens and as the space 26 is reduced in capacity some of the liquid fuel therein flows out through opening 33- past valve 27 and through'openings 36 into the liquid contain-- ing portion 56 of-the tank. vContinued or intermittent operation of this sort operates to pump liquid from the reartank into the chamber 56. i I

\Vhen'the chamber 56 is filled with liquid sufiiciently to surround or engage the bottom surface of enlargementlt) of the piston this surface, due to the snugness of'fit of the enlargement 19 with the inner wall of the tank 7 by its engagement with the liquid in the tank, acts to dampen the vibration of the piston relative to the tank and to. cause the 'two'to move inv unison. This condition will result'until the level of theliquid in the tank is lowered by its being fedout .to the carburetor through joint 11 andpipe 8 or to some other receiving mechanism.

When the level of the liquid is sufliciently lowered the piston is again free to vibrate with respect to the tank 7 and further pumping will take place upon the vibration of the tank until the liquid is again of sufficient- 5 height to engage the bottomsurface of the enlargement 19' so that the same ..will cause a dampening of the oscillation of the piston relative to the tank. In theory this is What happens but in practice as the device is being operated dueto the vibr ation the pumping mechanism will provide a; substantially constant level at all times'in the liquid cham ber of the tank when the tank is designed for the average vibrationbeing used and in such proportions to at all times supply the proper amount of liquid fuelto the carburetor.

Attention is directed to the utility of the inertia chamber 22 in the inertia mass 19 in which the cylinder wall 24 has movement.

The purpose of thisehamber is topro-' vide a priming fluid at the, initiation of'the pumping operation. There is provided sufficient space between the outside of the cylinder and-the outer wall of the chamber 22 to permit the inflowi.

of fuel fluidwhen the level of the sam'e arises in the tank. Thisfuel accumulates in the chamber '22 and is retained there I in irrespective of the quantity of fuel which remains in the tank 7, even though the tank .7 should be totally deprived'of fuel for any reason. If the .pumpgwere perfectly dry there would be difficulty in causing a p'umpa ing action because of air leakage between the noteworthy features of the invention.

Various changes in thedesign and construc-" tion will of course appear to those skilled 1n; the art and without departing from the.

. spiritof our invention. We therefore do notv desire that this invention be limited to the particular form of construction shown.

Having described our invention what weclaim is: 1'. The combination of a receiving tank adapted to be subjected to vibration; a cap for the tank rigidly fastened thereto; a pump cylindercarried by the topv of 'thestank andconnected with a supply receptacle a check valve in the connection betweenthe pump cylinder and the supply tank adapted to allow fluid to pass from the latter to the former but not in the reverse direction; a piston in the pump tank having a portion fitting in the pump cylinder; a fiuidreceiving chainher in the pump tank; openings connecting said chamber with the pump chamber controlled by a check valve adapted to'allow fluid to pass from the pump chamber to the fluid receiving chamberof the tank but to prevent flow- I thereof in the opposite direction; and means for yieldingly maintaining the piston at a point of balance with respect to the pump a cylinder but allowing the piston to move relative 'to the cylinder as the pump tank is subjected to vibration.

' 2. In a pumping mechanism the combination of a tank having etQPCdPi a cylinder ing cylinder by the vibration of the cylinder to I pump-liquid from the supply tank into the liquid receiving space around the piston and f means adapted to form a liquid seal between the receiving tank; and means including an i annular recess surrounding the end of the cylinder and adapted to hold liquid whereby a liquid seal for the piston is provided.

7 4. The combination of a supply tank; a receiving tank; a piston loosely carried by the receiving tank; a capfor the receiving: tank rigidly carried. thereby; a pump cylinder carried by the cap and cooperating with the piston to form a pump chamber; a guide for the lower end'of the piston in the receiving tank; means whereby vibration of the receiving tankcaus'es' relative movement between it and the piston to pumpfluid from the supply tank to the receiving tank; and an annular channel formed in said piston and enclosing the end of the cylinder adapted to receive a liquid whereby a liquid seal is provided.

5. The combination of a supply tank; 'areceiving tank; a piston loosely carried by the receiving tank; a cap for the receivingtank rigidly carried thereby; a pump cylinder care ried by the cap and cooperating with the'piston to form a pump chamber; a liquid seal between said pistonand cylinder comprising an annular channel formed in the piston adjacent the cylinder; means for yieldingly supporting the piston with respect to the receiving tank at a point of balance but adapted to allow relative movement withrespect thereto; and means whereby vibration of the receiving' tank causes relative movement between itand the piston to pump fluid from the supply tank to the receiving tank.

6. The combination of a supply tank; a re-v "ceiving tank; a piston loosely carried by the receiving tank; a cap for thereceiving tank rigidly carriedthereby; a pump cylinder carried by the cap and cooperating with the piston to form a pump chamber; an outlet for the receiving chamber of the receiving tank; and means whereby vibration of the receiving tank causes relative movement between itand the piston to pump fluid from the supply tank to the receiving tank but adapted to reduce said pumping eflectwhen the liquid in the receiving tank stan'ds'at a certain level.

7 The combination of a supply tank; a receivingjtank; a piston loosely carried by the receiving tank a top cap for the receiving 7 tank rigidly carried thereby; a pump cylin- I der carried by the cap and cooperating with the-piston. to form a pump chamber; means whereby vibration of the receivingtank causes relative movement'between it'and the.

thereinto, said piston being mounted in thecylinder and'said cylinder depending from the top of the casing.

1 9. In a pump mechanism, the combination of a casing; means including a cylinder and piston within said casing for pumping fluid: thereinto, said piston being mounted inthe cylinder and said cylinder dependingfromthe top of the casing; and means depending upon the movement of the casing for recipro-= eating said piston. 1 a

10. In a pump mechanlsm, the comblnation' of a casing; means including acylmder andpiston within said casing forpmnping fluid thereinto, said piston being mounted-inthe cylinder and'said cylinder depending from V the top of the casingyand a plurality of means, one of which is manual and another of which is automatic dependingupon the movement of the'casing for-causing a pump-: I

ing action.

11. :In a device of the class described, the combination of a casing having base andcap portions; a pump cylinder depending from said cap portion"; a piston mounted on's'aid base portion; and a second casing within; said piston and adjacent said cylinder.

12. In a device of the class described, the combination of a primary casing; a pump cyl-, inder within and depending from the top of said casing; a piston movable within said cylinder; a weighted mass adapted, through its reciprocation; to move said piston; and asecondary chamber within said. mass iforming' an annular well around the lower end of the cylinder. I 13. In a device of the class described, the combination of a casing; a pump J cylinderv depending from the top of said casing; a piston movable within said cylinder and supported from the base of the casing; an enlarged mass integral with the upper portion of the piston, said mass having an annular cavity formed in the top thereof in which the wall of the cylinder is adapted to have movement, said cavity retaining liquid therein to form a sealing medium for said pump.

In testimony whereof we afliX our signatures. 

